According to Variety, WWE programming is set to undergo significant changes in January 2025. Raw’s flagship weekly live pro wrestling show will not appear on linear television for the first time ever. Monday Night Raw will air exclusively on the streaming platform in a new deal between the WWE and Netflix.
Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria expressed her optimism when talking about the deal when she said, “We are excited to have WWE Raw, with its huge and passionate multigenerational fan base, on Netflix. By combining our reach, recommendations and fandom with WWE, we’ll be able to deliver more joy and value for their audiences and our members. Raw is the best of sports entertainment, blending great characters and storytelling with live action 52 weeks a year and we’re thrilled to be in this long-term partnership with WWE.”
Variety reports that the deal has Netflix committed to a massive five billion dollars over the next ten years at 500 million dollars each year. Netflix can opt out of the deal after the first five years or extend the contract by ten years.
Raw still has until October 2024, when its deal with USA Network is up. Once the contract goes into effect in January 2025, Netflix will become the exclusive streamer of Raw in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Latin America and other territories. Additionally, Netflix will gain the rights to stream other WWE content outside of the U.S., like SummerSlam, SmackDown, WrestleMania, Royal Rumble, NXT, and other original content from the organization.
Nick Khan, WWE president, and Mark Shapiro, president and COO of WWE parent company TKO, were enthusiastic about the deal. Shapiro said, “This deal is transformative. It marries the can’t-miss WWE product with Netflix’s extraordinary global reach and locks in significant and predictable economics for many years. Our partnership fundamentally alters and strengthens the media landscape, dramatically expands the reach of WWE, and brings weekly live appointment viewing to Netflix.”